


Rumors

by thegizka



Category: Naruto
Genre: F/M, Gen, outfit swap
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-05
Updated: 2020-07-05
Packaged: 2021-03-04 19:54:49
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,070
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25081969
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/thegizka/pseuds/thegizka
Summary: Not yet ready to face the village gossips, Shikamaru agrees to a crazy plan so he can have a date night with Temari without drawing attention to their new relationship.Originally written for ShikaTema Week 2020 Day 3:  Outfit Swap.Notes:  I do not own any aspect of Naruto.
Relationships: Hyuuga Hinata/Uzumaki Naruto, Nara Shikamaru & Yamanaka Ino, Nara Shikamaru/Temari, Sai/Yamanaka Ino, Temari & Yamanaka Ino
Comments: 3
Kudos: 59





	Rumors

**Author's Note:**

> The premise of this is kind of whack, but I had a lot of fun writing it.

“This is probably the dumbest plan I’ve ever been part of,” Shikamaru groaned.

“It’ll work, though,” Ino promised, lounging on her couch and flipping through a magazine while her teammate paced around her living room.

“There are a thousand ways this could go wrong.”

“Hey.” She shot him a pointed look. “Do you want to be able to walk around with your secret girlfriend in peace or not?”

He sighed. He and Temari had started dating a few months ago, stealing moments alone during official visits and joint missions. Their positions in their respective villages made things complicated, so they’d agreed to keep a low profile. Unfortunately that was easier said than done. There were already more rumors about them swirling around Konoha than Shikamaru was comfortable with.

“You could always be open about it,” Ino had suggested. “People are going to know eventually.”

“People knowing will be troublesome,” Shikamaru grumbled.

“It just seems like you’re putting a lot of work into something that will be irrelevant in a few months anyway. But if you’re set on pretending your relationship is some scandalous secret, I guess I’ll help you out.”

Shikamaru didn’t want to admit that part of his motive for keeping their romance on the down low was selfishness. He was falling in love, and it was exhilarating. Those stolen moments with Temari were theirs alone, and he wanted to keep them to himself for as long as possible. Plus it gave them time to work out how they would navigate their two lives in two separate villages.

“You guys should leave soon or you’ll run out of time,” Ino said loud enough for her voice to carry down the hallway to the room where Temari was changing.

“You just want us out of your hair so Sai can sneak in here,” Shikamaru teased, though he had been thinking they ought to head out soon, too.

“Oh please.” Ino rolled her eyes, but she also didn’t deny his suggestion. Shikamaru wouldn’t be surprised if Sai was already hiding somewhere in her apartment just waiting for them to leave. Secrecy came naturally to him, and though Ino didn’t make any significant effort to hide their relationship, they largely remained under the radar of the village gossips. Shikamaru was a little envious.

The sound of a door opening interrupted his thoughts. A moment later, Temari stepped into the living room. Shikamaru blinked, his eyebrows pulling together of their own accord because this was just...strange. He knew Temari was standing in front of him. The suspicious look she was giving him was certifiably her. But he also had to remind part of his brain that she wasn’t Ino.

“What?” she demanded, troubled by his confused expression. “What’s wrong?”

“Nothing,” he responded. He made a conscious effort to relax his features while his mind untangled itself.

“He’s just tongue-tied because you look amazing!” Ino set aside her magazine to get up and circle the other woman, inspecting her work. “How does it feel?”

“It’s a little tight in some places.” Temari pulled the crop top and rolled her shoulders. Shikamaru tried not to inspect the places where it hugged her body too closely. “This skirt is super comfortable, though.”

“I know, right? I love it.” Ino adjusted a few strands of Temari’s hair. “What do you think of the wig?”

“It’s a lot of hair, but I can work with it for a few hours. Are you sure you’re okay with this?”

“Oh yeah,” she laughed. “Half of the village thinks Shikamaru and I ought to be dating already. It’ll take some scrutiny off of you and Sai, which works for me.”

“You’ve always been an attention hog,” Shikamaru sighed. She just stuck out her tongue at him and returned to the couch.

“Go on,” she said. “You kids have fun. Be responsible. I’ll come pick up my clothes sometime tomorrow.”

“You have fun, too,” Temari called as they left. “She was definitely telling us not to come back here tonight.”

“Trust me, you don’t want to see what she and Sai get up to.”

“You have no real idea of what they do together,” Temari declared with such confidence that he wondered how she could see straight through him. “Otherwise you wouldn’t be so scared of finding out.”

“I’m sorry, would you want to walk in on one of your brothers passionately making out with someone--or worse?”

“No, but they wouldn’t allow themselves to get caught in such a situation in the first place.”

“Ino and Sai are skilled enough not to get caught, but I know Ino has less shame than you think. I mean, she walks around in that outfit almost every day.”

“What’s wrong with this outfit?” Temari demanded, hands on her hips in a challenge. It brought his attention to the smooth skin of her exposed abs. Funny how it captured his attention now while it had never interested him when Ino wore that crop top.

“Nothing,” he gulped, forcing himself to look away. “Come on.”

“You’re terrible,” she sighed, but she followed after him, slipping her hand into his.

“Hey-”

“What?” she challenged. “The purpose of this getup is to be able to go around more freely, right?” Temari leaned towards him to whisper in his ear. “Let’s start a few rumors.”

“I’m the one who will have to live with these rumors,” he grumbled. He was starting to think she was enjoying this a little too much.

“That’s the price you pay,” she grinned. “Come on, let’s see how this goes. It’d be a shame to let all of this effort go to waste.”

“What a drag,” Shikamaru muttered, but he didn’t pull away.

The success of this date depended on how precisely they could walk the line of being seen but not letting anyone get too close. He had carefully planned a date that would let them make a few appearances at some public but less frequented locations. Assuming they weren’t unlucky, they’d have just enough privacy to enjoy their time together without totally hiding.

They opted to grab dinner at a little food cart tucked just off of the main street. Neither Ino nor Shikamaru frequented it, so they were unlikely to be particularly memorable. The plan was to grab food and eat on a previously scouted rooftop so they could enjoy the sunset. After the sun went down, they could wander the village or return to the Nara estate for the rest of the evening.

“Got everything?” Shikamaru asked, balancing a sandwich and both of their drinks.

“Yes, thank you.” Temari grabbed a few extra napkins and then took her drink from him. “Where to?”

“The school.”

“The school? How romantic.”

“You’ll think so once you see the view.”

“Believe it or not, I have been on the Academy roof before.”

“But were you with such charming company?”

“We were planning the chunin exam, so-”

“Shikamaru!”

They had just enough time to exchange a surprised glance before turning to greet an enthusiastic Naruto with his wife just a step behind him.

“Hello Shikamaru. Hi I-Ino?” Hinata’s voice rose in surprise. She looked between them, confused, but neither had time to explain before Naruto spoke.

“What are you two up to?”

“Just grabbing dinner,” Shikamaru said carefully. He could tell Hinata had seen through them, but he wasn’t sure whether Naruto had caught on.

“We just got done at Ichiraku. I’m stuffed.” He laughed, and Hinata glanced at him with an amused smile. They had only been married a few months, but there was a new brightness to them when they were together. Nothing significant had changed between them, but there was a palpable difference. It made Shikamaru wonder if he and Temari would get to experience that part of their relationship.

“Hey, where’s Chouji?” Naruto asked, glancing around. “You three are always together.”

“He’s on a mission to Kumo for a few days.” He’d been taking a lot of missions to Kumo recently.

“So it’s just you two. That must be kind of weird.”

“It’s fine, actually.”

“Are you sure?” Naruto turned to Temari with a significant look. “Ino, you’re being awfully quiet.”

“I’m just hungry.” Her voice was elevated from nerves or an attempt to mimic Ino, but she sounded strained. Naruto frowned.

“Naruto,” Hinata said gently before he could comment further, “we should let them eat. Besides, you wanted to look for some dessert, right?”

“Oh yeah. Sorry Hinata, I forgot. See you guys later!”

Shikamaru mouthed a “thank you” to Hinata as she and her husband turned to leave. She just smiled before walking away with a final confused glance.

“Come on,” he sighed, heading towards the school again. Temari giggled behind him.

“Naruto can be really dense, can’t he?”

“Lucky for us.”

“We’ll have to explain everything to Hinata, though. I can only imagine what she thinks we’re up to.”

“Let’s just hope we don’t run into anyone else. That was a bit too close for comfort.”

“I bet it’ll get a few rumors started, though,” she grinned as they climbed up onto the school’s roof.

“Only if Hinata doesn’t run interference.” Shikamaru picked a spot near the western edge of the roof and sat. Temari settled beside him, and they delved into their food. A few moments of silence stretched between them while the sky was painted in gold and lavender. A few clouds blushed in the setting sun. They watched a pair of birds diving through the air in the distance.

“This is nice,” Temari sighed, leaning against him while she sipped her drink.

“Yeah.” He wrapped his arm around her but flinched when his hand met the bare skin of her waist. She just laughed.

“You’re so jumpy,” she teased, grabbing his hand and holding it in her own. “Relax. Enjoy the view. Cuddle your girlfriend. Take it easy like you always say you want to.”

He hummed and tried to just enjoy the moment. That was the purpose of this whole charade, right? Temari seemed to have no problem with it. But every time he glanced at her, he had to look away. It was just too uncomfortable.

“Is it really that bad?” she asked, jostling him with her shoulder.

“I can’t even look at you. You don’t look bad,” he added hurriedly. He had seen her covered in dirt and sweat and blood, and she still looked beautiful. She always looked beautiful. “I just get a headache because you’re not actually Ino and the dumb part of my brain thinks you are.”

“Oh my gosh, are you attracted to Ino?”

“No! Definitely not. But I am attracted to you, and right now you look a lot like her.”

“So you are attracted to her.”

“I’m not!”

“I’m just teasing you,” she smirked. “To be honest, this is all a bit too strange. It was funny to see Naruto’s reaction, but it’s not worth it if you’re not comfortable.”

“It’s not all bad,” he admitted, kissing her exposed shoulder, the closest he could bring himself to admitting that he liked the way the crop top fit her. She cocked her eyebrow at him.

“Do you want to expand on that?”

“Maybe at home.”

“Alright then.” Temari stood and stretched, giving Shikamaru a moment to admire the way the late evening sunlight struck the skin of her exposed stomach. “Can we grab some dango on the way?”

“You don’t want to watch the rest of the sunset?”

“I’ve seen better.”

“So much for trying to be romantic,” he grumbled, gathering their food wrappers. She turned and surprised him with a kiss on his cheek.

“It was a good date,” she said with a charming smile. “Now come on, let’s see if we can start another rumor or two before it’s over.”

\-----

“I can’t believe you two!” Chouji cried. “I’m gone for five days and you break up with Temari and Sai and start dating each other?”

“You were dating Temari?” Naruto blinked.

“Uh,” Shikamaru stuttered, and Ino burst out laughing.

“I don’t think you should laugh about this,” their teammate frowned. “You should be ashamed for moving on so quickly after breaking their hearts. And not telling me about it yourselves! I had to hear it all from Naruto.”

“Sorry Chouji,” Ino giggled. She shot Shikamaru a triumphant look. “I’m just happy everything worked like it was supposed to.”

Shikamaru sighed. “What a drag.”


End file.
